8,000 mile challenge from Birmingham to Beijing set to raise £1million for IFRC

Land Rover, in partnership with The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), has launched a 50-day, 8,000 mile trek from its factory in Birmingham to Beijing with the aim of raising £1million to support a massive water and sanitation project in Uganda. The project will provide clean water and sanitation to 45,000 people.

Bekele Geleta, Secretary General of the IFRC said money raised from the challenge would have a big impact on many lives. “3.6 million people die each year from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene,” he said. “This is the number one killer of children in the world. There are significant needs in Uganda and the Uganda Red Cross has an impressive history in delivering water and sanitation programmes to the most vulnerable. This joint initiative between the IFRC and Land Rover aims to reach an additional 45,000 people which will be a fantastic achievement.”

After a stopover at the Geneva Motorshow on 6 March, the team of four Land Rover Discovey vehicles will set off, navigating through a dozen countries across Europe and Central Asia before arriving in China’s capital on 23 April. Members of the public can follow the expedition and donate at www.landrover.com/million.

The expedition is Land Rover’s most ambitious fundraising project ever and is in addition to the company’s three-year global initiative ‘Reaching Vulnerable People Around the World’. This initiative, launched in 2010, provides additional support for IFRC programmes in over 15 countries worldwide.

Mark Cameron, Land Rover Global Brand Extension Director said, the trek was the fruit of a partnership which has lasted for almost 60 years. "Land Rover is delighted to launch the One Million Pound fundraiser in aid of the IFRC – an organization we have had a relationship with since 1954. The funds will be used directly by the IFRC, over a three-year period, to fund a water sanitation project in Uganda, with 45,000 beneficiaries.”